ARoS acquires monumental installation

From this autumn, a 50 m long installation entitled Valkyrie Rán by Joana Vasconcelos from Portugal will be winding its way through the ARoS building spanning eight levels. ValkyrieRán is the main work in Vasconcelos’s solo exhibition opening on 14 October at the museum, after which it will form part of the permanent museum collection.

‘We’re proud that Joana Vasconcelos has agreed to create a major work such as this to ARoS. It’s an ambitious investment, because she’s a very sought-after artist. It’s a work with great visual appeal embodying a wealth of narratives. We look forward to presenting the imposing and colourful ValkyrieRán to our visitors,’ says Erlend G. Høyersten, museum director, ARoS.

Valkyrie Rán is the largest installation to date to become part of the permanent collection at ARoS. The work has been acquired with the help of donations from Augustinus Fonden and the New Carlsberg Foundation. Textiles used to create the installation were donated by Kvadrat.

Joana Vasconcelos announces:

“Valkyrie Rán was designed and created in close dialogue with the architecture of ARoS Aarhus Art Museum, twelve years after beginning this series of works inspired by the Valkyries. It is a motive of great pride and joy to see the first to return to its Norse origins, in Denmark. I’m thankful to the remarkable team at ARoS Aarhus Art Museum for the trust put in my work. Valkyrie Rán is the most ambitious work yet of the “Valkyries” series.”

BRIEFLY ABOUT JOANA VASCONCELOS

Joana Vasconcelos (b. 1971) lives and works in Lisbon, Portugal. With an impressive track record of international exhibitions behind her, Vasconcelos was e.g. the first woman and youngest artist ever to exhibit in the historic rooms at Château de Versailles in France in 2012. Moreover, she has represented Portugal on several occasions at the prestigious Venice Biennale and she is represented in numerous important private and public collections.

Vasconcelos has focus on textiles and the numerous techniques used in needlework. She uses traditional needlework techniques such as crocheting, embroidery, beadwork, and she makes fringes, tassels, and pompons. Her studio is staffed by 50 full-time experts (including architects, smiths, and seamstresses), each contributing their specific skills to the creation of the large art installations.